Free Torchship by Karl K. Gallagher

answered Guo. “It’sh
wearing off.”
    “Is the lower airlock
working?” asked Mitchie.
    “Yesh.”
    “Anybody else around?”
broadcast Bing.
    “I’m here, fine, with two
uninjured passengers,” reported Billy.
    “Good. Captain, are you out
there?” asked Bing. No reply.
    Guo waited in the corridor as
the inner airlock door opened. Mitchie handed him the bubble before taking off
her helmet. She studied him for a moment. His face had a huge red blotch on one
cheek surrounding a small scab. “What’d the guy do to you?”
    The mechanic shrugged. “Had a
dart pistol. Got me in the face as I told him he wasn’t allowed down here. So I
woke up strapped down in my acc couch. Idiot had no idea there were extra
release buttons. I waited until he was distracted, popped the straps, and let
him have it with a wrench.”
    When they reached the
converter room Mitchie saw Mussa tied up in a corner. The wrench had clearly
been a 5cm crow’s foot. The dent in the thug’s skull was so large she was
surprised he was still breathing.
    “Let’s see what she needs.”
Guo unzipped the bubble. Bobbie was limp but had strong breathing and pulse. “Pupils
aren’t bad. Mild concussion at most.” He took a drugpatch from the first aid
kit and applied it to her neck.
    “Did you give Mussa anything?”
asked Mitchie.
    “Fuck no.”
    “Well, we don’t want him dying
before he confesses. The other guy isn’t talking.” She grabbed another patch
out of the kit and applied to it Mussa.
    “Hey, he could’ve waited
until we had a headcount. We don’t know how many other injured we’ve got.”
Mitchie ignored Guo while checking Mussa’s restraints. The mechanic had used
fuel wire on the wrists and ankles. Looked like he’d cut circulation off to the
hands. That didn’t bother her.
    Bobbie started coughing. Guo
handed her a waterbulb. She sucked it dry before trying to talk. “Is John okay?
Have you seen him? He was hurt bad in the fight.”
    “No, I’m sorry, we haven’t
had time to look for him. We just got you back,” answered Mitchie.
    “Please look for him! It was
bad. He might not have much longer if he doesn’t get help.” The girl teared up.
    “Well, you’re stable here, I’ll
see what I can do,” said Mitchie.
    Guo strapped the first aid
kit onto her suit as she put her helmet back on. He followed her to the
airlock.
    “Take care of her, okay? She’s
just a kid.”
    Guo smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll
keep an eye on her. You be careful.”
    Mitchie’s first stop was the
hold. She got Bing’s suit out of the locker and put it and the first mate’s
bubble in the hold airlock. Then she went outside again to enter through the
upper airlock. No evidence of the struggle was visible in the corridor. She
checked the captain’s cabin first. John’s body spun as it drifted. There was no
need to check for signs of life. The stun grenade had visibly crushed his
ribcage. He must have died instantly. She braced herself against the hatch and
gave the body a parade ground salute.
    There was no sign of the
captain in his cabin. Bing’s across the hall was also empty of life. She looked
in the unused cabins by the hatch to the hold next. Schwartzenberger was
unconscious but breathing strongly. Mitchie applied a drug patch to him and
strapped him down in the bed. She reported in to Bing.
    The mate had finished a
headcount of the passengers—all fine except for missing one student. “I’ll come
take care of Alois. Leave the kit there. You get to the bridge and see if we’ve
got any more visitors coming.”
    “Aye-aye.” Mitchie headed
back out the airlock. The window panel she’d blasted free from the bridge had
stuck in the chasm wall. Some fiddling and scraping got her and it both on the
inside of the bridge. She put it against the window frame and started liberally
applying sealant goo. With her own tube and the one Captain Schwartzenberger
had opened to deal with the cannon shot holes she had barely